THE NEW YORKER Americans still dazed by the moral crisis of the Vietnam War feel "good" about their country once more; and in the contest with the Soviet Union it would allow the United States to reoc- cupy the ideological high ground it had lost in Vietnam. But these objec- tives worked against others: the rapid negotiation of an agreement with the Soviet Union for reversing the arms race, and the cultivation of a political climate here that would support its ratification. As if to institutionalize his own am- bivalence, in his principal foreign-pol- icy appointments Carter made certain that he would receive irreconcilable advIce. Secretary of State Vance be- lieved that the problem of peace was infinitely more complex than keeping the Soviets off balance. The economic threats facing the United States-the energy crisis, the failure of the mone- tary order, growing conflicts with the resource-producing nations-were at least as serious as the Soviet threat. Stable relations with the Soviet Union were a precondition for dealing with these problems, but the Soviet Union was not the key to their solution. The so-called North-South issues had been neglected, Vance said, because of our preoccupation with the East- West arms race. Brzezinski, on the other hand, though he had written in the same vein, reverted to his earlier views once he was in office. He saw our rela- tions with the Soviet Union as a prob- lem that dwarfed all others, and he believed that those relations required an increased emphasis on American military force. Franklin D. Roosevelt had successfully run his Administra- tions by retaining advisers who dis- agreed profoundly with one another, but Jimmy Carter was unable to make effective use of both a volatile "idea man" like Brzezinski and a steady counsellor like Vance (After leaving office, Carter told one audience that he rejected seventy-five per cent of Brzezinski's ideas, yet his memoirs leave the impression that he may have considered naming him Secretary of State when Vance resigned.) The press discovered the Trilateral Commis- sion-a project for rethinking the for- eign and economic policies of North America, Europe, and Japan, in which Carter and a number of his principal advisers participated-just as it was becoming clear that the Administra- tion was going in a quite different direction. While preaching free trade, Carter was swept along by the world trend toward economic nationalism and moved the country into greater 111 The "Man" of the Year Eat your heart out, E.T. ".. ... f , f \:'*' "t::: t' The Books of the Year What Aw Those 1èIev1su1-1}'pewnterS Anywí1!f:> If vou wnte anythmg tTom a Iett T a day to a book a month readmg thIS could change youT bfe The Personal iCo uter The Word Processing . Book . t'" A Short Course I In Computer LIteracy tp ;I\ð' ter A McWilliams .:. ...... ..--. _......... ..-5 e J h<1' H t) mt ut Hm . < ,,:,"'< <.vw,<,.>, , t 111 I I ",:;' t.@ mf \:nwn'm)t't^w 4mw, The New York Times: "Solid advice for the first-time buyer. Just what the consumer needs." Newsweek: "These sprightly, clear, funny primers explain everything you need to know." The Wall Street Journal: "Mr. McWilliams manages to demystify, and he is genuinelv funny to boot." William F. Buckley, Jr.: "Peter McWilliams writes about personal computers in an informed, cheerful, relaxed. unintimidating, and immensely readable fashion." The Los Angeles T'lmes: "A pleasure as well as a prImer: thorough, amusing, witty, and highly recommendable." John Chancellor: "Brilliant! Mr. McWilliams has led me out of the darklless. " Chicago Sun Times: "At last, computer reading that's fun. There is no more engaging, readable and sensible writer on the subject than McWilliams" The Houston Post: "Relax. Peter McWilliams, the Dr Spack of computers, is here to inform and soothe." TV Guide: "Among many books on computers that are now avail- able, the two by Peter McWilliams are especially useful" Library Journal: "Highly recommended." Available at bookstores everywhere, or by mail. To order, call toll-free 800-328-3890 ext. 6013 (In Minnesota call 800-682-3816 ex 6013. In Minneapolis call 922-6699) Or send $11 for each book ($13 for First Class or UPS) to: Prelude Press, 944 North Palm, Los Angeles, California, 90069 @Ë) B - Prelude Press Booksellers: To order, please call 800-638-6460